Happy Seafood and Fish Treats from Max's.

Dear Max's Chicken,

Although for forty days, I'd pass on the to-die-for Crispy Pata (literally to-die-for) and signature chicken, thank you so much for your seafood choices that you served to us last Monday. The rain and the chores I had at home didn't stop me. Although it was mainly Yeoh who egged me to go if I want to live to see the next day. Whaddya know? I didn't regret it.

Not only did the seafood/fish dishes make Lent less of a chore, but just in time for summer, when eating fresh yummy seafood reminds us of a beach picnic while we're in the concrete jungle.

Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet was a mixture of tasty and healthy. Before the guys took pictures, I already popped a bell pepper in my mouth so poor dish had to be angled. :P

Some are traumatized to eat bangus because a sliver of a fish bone is usually pried in the meat and you have to be OC and careful that no bone comes in contact with the esophagus. This one had nada tinik. Boneless bangus is really boneless. Yummy too even without the vinegar and atchara sidings.

My favorite would have to be a steaming hot pot of Sinigang na Hipon with crisp veggies, a hot, sour tamarind based broth, and bright orange crunchy shrimps. I love that this bowl wasn't stingy with shrimp. I'm a sucker for good shrimp, but these weren't crinkly, old, wrinkly tough shrimp. The shell could easily be peeled off the meat and it wasn't much effort to chuck out all the shells so I could devour them.

Guilty as charged!

Speaking of shrimp, another shrimp dish to behold is the Camaron Rebosado, which were shrimps (wheee) dipped in batter served with sweet and sour sauce. Sige na nga, hindi sya tempura. I thought it was tempura in the picture, but I forgot that tempura uses bread crumbs.

If anyone got hooked to the seafood bug and decided to sample out all the seafood dishes, be sure to get the special seafood fest frequency card, which rewards the bearer a Chicken-All-You-Can treat from Max's upon completion of all six stickers, which should be done in the time frame from March 8 to April 30, 2011.

I am totally serious on the Sinigang na Hipon and Sweet and Sour Fish Fillet that got me hauling seconds and thirds. So I think I know now where I'd be on Friday if I get too lazy to cook. :P

How I Spent Chinese New Year With Chowking

Chinese New Year is suddenly becoming one big celebration here in the Philippines. Somehow, we've embraced already the traditions of having dragon dances, having tikoy for breakfast, and all that. Not really following tradition, I'm not the type to follow those to the letter but I do enjoy the occasional tikoy for breakfast or wearing red. Red, after all is my favorite lucky color that never failed me.

Chowking, one of my favorite fast food chains that turned me to a convert at first bite invited me to celebrate Chinese New Year with them in an event that would also showcase their dishes. Of course it was something I couldn't say no to because, I love Chowking and I absolutely have no excuse that it's too far as the venue, Mercato Centrale, is just a hop and a skip away from where I live.

Come that day, I dropped by Kell's office since I told him we'd go together and meet our blogger friends there as I didn't want to go there alone. Kell was happy to oblige going there and had me bugging to get myself there at High Street as he was had at "hosted by Kim Chiu". We met up with the rest of the guys at Mercato where we proceeded to munch on chicharap and siomai while at it.

The event started off with the traditional and oh-so-cute dragon dance with matching mini-fireworks.

Dragon dances are quite popular during Chinese New Year, seeing them in malls and streets as a main attraction. Apparently, Chinese New Year Dragons represent luck and the Chinese Dragon, if my understanding through a bit of googling and reasearch would be correct, ushers in good luck and success in the year ahead for all human beings. The dragon dance also is something like a rain dance, to bring in rainfall, since dragons are believed to be the governors of rainfall (Not too much Mr. Dragon, though, let Mr. Sunshine do his thing too).

After which, we proceded to the dining area, decked in the lucky color of red. After introductions were made by the lovely host, Lyn Ching, we were introduced to the father-and-son team of Chefs Gene and Gino Gonzales who demonstrated to us the old-school way of making famous Chinese dishes like sweet and sour pork, orange chicken, and beef with broccoli.

Chef Gene Gonzales explains to us how to rock that sweet and sour pork. Sadly, I didn't have a pen with me that time because I will be scribbling quickly all his tips, so I relied on memory to retain his pointers namely:

• In orange chicken and sweet and sour pork, it simply works this way, you bread and fry the meat and dump it in the glaze. However, it's not all that. You need to make sure that the meat is drained and hot before dumping it in the hot glaze. Yep, both need to be hot so the flavors are absorbed.
• I normally have a problem with my broccoli wilting midway while cooking. The solution apparently was to blanch the broccoli first for a minute in boiling water then douse it with icy water to get that bright green color and make it all crispy and crunchy and add it to the later part of cooking. That explains the bright green crispy broccoli the experts make.
• In beef, the secret is not to overcook the beef, since overcooking the beef makes it tough. As we add the sauce, the beef at that time is slightly browned but not thoroughly cooked so there's time for the beef to cook and absorb the flavours of the sauces.

Chinese cooking apparently is a science, meaning it's not just dunking in ingredients together. Chef Gene explains that it's actually layers of flavors and amino acids coming together in harmony. It's a bit easy, but somehow complicated, quite hard for me to substitute just to get it right. There's a specific time to put in the glaze, the right temperature, and the right melding of textures, so we get to savor each flavor and texture. Who says Chinese food was boring, right?

After the demo, Chowking ambassadors come out with signature Chowking dishes to see how our favorite Chinese fast food fares with those cooked by the experts.

Here's Kim Chiu with sweet and sour pork

Our favorite leading man Jericho Rosales presents beef with broccoli to the experts. After all three dishes were demonstrated, the audience of course, won't go out without being fed of course.

The orange chicken totally had a lot of improvement from when I first ordered it. Personally, when I first tasted orange chicken, I remember being oh-so-excited about it since it was one of my favorite Chinese dishes. When I finally got to try it, I found the flavor a bit too strong, almost like I was eating citrusy dishwashing detergent. I'm glad Chowking improved the formula so the tangy taste has mellowed down to something more fruity and I could still taste the chicken as well. I like that the breading was crispy.

Among the three dishes, the Beef With Broccoli happens to be my favorite among all three, since I like how tender the beef was. The sauce is also amazing with the Chicharap.

Sweet and sour pork was divine, and take note that I'm not a pork fan. I like that the pork was of fine quality, tender, and melded well with the sauce. The breading was still crisp instead of soggy being soaked with the sauce and on top of that, everything was served hot.

Of course how would an event be without pictures with the stars, right?

Me with Kim Chiu. Believe it or not, I used to be as fair-skinned as she is till the pool and beach found me.

Could definitely not pass an opportunity to have a picture with Jericho Rosales. I. Could. Die. Now. Thanks Russel for obliging to my fangirl mode.

But of course Kell who was the happiest guy of the night.

In all our years of being friends, he has never had a smile that wide. EVER. Russel took a better photo of course, but I stayed as a backup photographer for my dear friend.

The guys and I had fun at the event, and sure enough, we were definitely going to Chowking again. In fact, I tried my hand on orange chicken just yesterday, but I must say, that the one I ordered last Saturday at Chowking Pioneer rivals the home-cooked one I made a few days ago.

The Day Italy was Brought To Me

"Hi, I'm Giorgio Matera and if you don't know me, I'm the guy in the menu," says the guy in front. He points to the La Piadina menu, which shows his picture, and we all chuckle. It was a low-peak mall hour Monday morning. half of the new La Piadina store in Glorietta 4 was closed to several members of the media in an intimate lunch that features La Piadina's new recipes.

Before the group gathered, I arrived rather early and had a chat with Giorgio and Tetta Matera, a husband-and-wife team who owns La Piadina La Cucina Regionale, a quaint Italian chain of restaurants in Tokyo and in Manila. I immediately beamed how much I've been a fan of the Piadina stall at the Glorietta food court. It's true. My comfort food is the Pasta Arrabiata and mozzarella set.

This is Italian food from Italy," Giorgio explains to me. Italian food isn't just pizza and pasta, which are what we're used to. They've got more than pizza and pasta. There were also main courses to try. And pasta isn't just spaghetti. We also have ravioli and gnocchi, which are potato dumplings made by hand. "Are your pastas fresh pasta?" Giorgio nods in agreement and points to me his staff making fresh gnocchi with his hands and a fresh sheet of pasta being cut up. I love fresh pasta. This ought to be good.

Tetta sits two places on my right and joins us for lunch as well. Tetta is a picture of happiness and health. She mentions how her whole take on food totally changed when she met Giorgio. With minimal makeup save for obligatory mascara and bronzer, Tetta has an elegant aura similar to Monica Belluci. As her husband stays in the kitchen cooking, she's usually in the dining area overseeing everything.

For appetizer, we were served I Crostini with Liver and Tuna Pate. For someone who's not much on pate, I had quite a serving of these. First the tuna, then I conceded with liver. I noticed that there's no fishy taste unlike some pates that I've tasted. While feasting on the crostini, I opened the menu. Most people find the menu confusing, since instead of the usual grouping of soup, salad, pasta, pizza, dessert, the food is divided into regions. Regions meaning regions in Italy to emphasize food being regional. This sets them apart from other restaurants. It's a little Italy 101 lesson for us. In the Tuscan region, for example, mushrooms and truffle oil were quite popular, hence there were a lot of them. The Le Linguine ai Funghi Con Olio di Tartufo (if I get it right, that's linguini with mushrooms in olive oil) was our dish for that region, which was rich and flavorful but didn't cause my stomach to turn in somersaults. Oh here, we were served using ribbon pasta.

Look! I get to try to shape ribbon pasta too!

Giorgio is from the Puglia region in Italy. The Puglia part caught my eye and tastebuds. With a lot of fish and tomatoes, I wanted something rich and robust in favor. Tetta explains that in their menu, there are no added sugars or preservatives. Tomato sauce and tomatoes are simmered for 2-3 hours to bring out the natural sweetness.

Giorgio personally serves us sampling sizes of Le Penne con Rucola e Acciughe, which is penne with anchovies, olives, and fresh tomato sauce. He relates that this is also the same way they serve it in his home. Right before serving, Giorgio mixes in fresh arugula, so when served, the arugula isn't crumpled and wilted. I personally like arugula and mixed with the rich flavor, I think I found another favorite in place of my Arrabiata.

The sauce appears to be just touching the pasta (which is fresh, by the way) and we don't have the ingredients swimming in red liquid. Presentation-wise this is something. And this has been consistent not just in the restaurant but also in the food court version.

I've confessed I've never tasted gnocchi in my whole life, but I'm always interested in them. Here's the gnocchi served to us - in creamy gorgonzola cheese sauce. What did I say? "Why did I only taste this now?" The gorgonzola cheese had just the taste that I wanted, a bit salty but not too salty. If there were seconds I would have had seconds.

We were served two kinds of risottos. First up was a meat-lover's delight, Il Risotto Pilota, which had Parmesan cheese and homemade Italian sausage.

The second was my favorite, Il Risotto al Pesto con Scampi. The shrimps were very fresh, and these were shrimps bought straight from the market that very day, so I get none of the annoying shell sticking on the meat. In fact, there are some of clients with sensitivity to day-old shrimps who could eat their scampi without any allergies.

Risotto is actually Italian rice quite different from the rice we know. Risotto has a certain bite. However, before making risotto at home, I found out that it's a dish that really takes time and effort. You can't leave it and you have to be hands-on with it. Risotto in their kitchen takes 20 minutes to prepare, but the wait is worth it. If you're not allergic to shrimp you must try the scampi. As I tell people, I die without shrimp and seafood. By the way, this is my first time to try risotto too. Risotto is actually a favorite of Giorgio's and Tetta's children.

Main course came up, which was Il Pollo Saltato al Balsamico con Basilico. The chicken breast was soft, moist, and melt-in-the mouth. The grilled vegetables were slightly tart due to the balsamic but I totally did not complain and was lucky to get a second serving. In fact, I was glad there was one. Again, these are fresh meat and vegetables marketed everyday and delivered to their kitchen.

To cap off our lunch, we were served one of La Piadina's bestselling desserts: Tiramisu, made from real marscapone cheese. It wasn't sweet and overpowering. The taste was mild and light, and cleansed the palate from all the rich flavors we tasted.

If you go back there and ask whatever happened to the old favorites? Well they still are there. There's still Pasta Arrabiata in the menu, and in fact I had it weeks before when I dined there when it opened. Other favorites still exist, like the Pasta Scampi and Pesto, but with different twists and upgrades.

This totally new concept of Piadina still maintains the quiet and intimate ambiance of the old Piadina we used to love. Here, Chef Giorgio communicates and introduces his country via the food he serves which he believes we would all love. In fact, having dined here for quite a while, I'm glad I not only got to taste my usual favorites but also new dishes that I only see in pictures.

La Piadina (La Cucina Regionale Italiana) is located at the second floor of Glorietta 4 in Makati. :) It's right across Jolibee and next to Dulcinea.

Not Our Usual Makis At Red Kimono

If you're tired of your usual maki formula of nori and sushi rice either inside out and rolled in fish roe or enveloping raw tuna or kani, then the event I attended last week was definitely maki in various conoctions. Red Kimono held a contest entitled "My Maki Masterpiece", a contest that marks Red Kimono's 5th birthday. This contest encouraged participants to create their very own maki. They had to think out-of-the-box for other ingredients that could make a maki truly unique. Prior to this event, the participants were required to submit a recipe, photo of the finished maki, and a title. Ten entries were pre-selected and these were the makis we tasted that night.

Food and drinks were overflowing that night as we all gathered to witness the event where these 10 finalists would showcase their Maki recipes. These were judged by six prominent personalities namely Tweetie De Leon-Gonzales, Ricky de Vera, DJ Rob Joseph, Carlos Celdran, Dr. Edgardo Rodriguez, and Ernie Lopez. Host Issa Litton multitasks as being a judge too that night.

Of course it wasn't just them who got a taste of these ten recipes. We also did. Check out some of the favorites:

This three-in-0ne maki stresses how breakfast is an important meal of the day. These three makis contain salted egg, tomatoes, and sardines in one big cluster. Even without soy sauce, these makis are quite flavorful.

This was the crowd favorite, having incorporated kani and aligue on the recipe. I wasn't able to have seconds of these as it got wiped out in an instant. It's very tasty, in fact, and although I'm not much of an aligue fan, I found this maki delicious.

Is that shrimp I see? well I gotta have this Kurtswheel pretty roll, I think!

There were still seven more flavors that kept coming in, most of them taking inspirations from Filipino dishes. I was glad that there were also vegan makiI found the vegan makis quite refreshing and I would recommend them to someone who wants to try maki but is allergic but could take nori.

While on a maki break, Arpee tells me to lay low on the sake. At least this picture got me cheekbones!

The winners of the challenge would have their recipes included in the Red Kimono menu. That too and also Php5,000 cash and Php5,000 gift certificates from Red Kimono. Among the five winners, the grand winner happened to be a dessert maki made of mangoes and sticky rice drizzled in chocolate syrup. It was quite unusual and original to have maki as a dessert. From those who tasted it, they said it reminded them of suman. Suman and chocolate do go together! Looks like I gotta try them soon, but I have to hurry since these are available for a limited time only.

A Very Scent-Sational Menu

Today's a holiday you guys. It's no work for me though, since I guess most of my clients decided to be laid back today.

On the other hand, it was pretty and proper for me. Donning a (very) little black dress, slipping into leopard print wedges, and totting my usual humongous clutch which holds half of my life, I sped off to the Rigodon Ballroom of the Manila Peninsula Hotel for a very interesting event. Along with the members of the media, including some of the country's most influential bloggers, I was there to witness the launch of Downy's perfume series.

If you've seen the ads, the new Downy Perfume Series has an advanced, touch-activated Perfume Microcapsule technology, which places the blend of perfume oils within the Downy formula. These capsules slowly release more fragrance when rubbed or touched. So everything smells good even way after we get our clothes from the laundry.

For this blog however, it was interesting to note the menu, which included some of the ingredients of the perfumes in the Downy Perfume Series, of course not meaning pouring soap on the food.

Upon registration, I was welcomed with Rose wine. This I find most addicting, I think I had four of this during the entire duration. What's good too was that I didn't feel like I was seeing exponential numbers of everything around me, and I was able to answer questions without slurring.

As a refreshing non-alcoholic treat, we were given red iced tea, which was infused with apple.

For soup, we had Pumpkin soup with coconut cream and coriander.

Appetizer was Smoked citrus-scented Atlantic salmon with petit mesclun greens with orange mustard dressing. The salmon melted in my mouth and the orange provided a refreshing contrast with rich fish like smoked salmon.

The main course had Honey Glazed chicken breast. On the sides, we had vegetables which I think were infused in herbs plus Jasmine rice. I love jasmine rice. Screw the fact that my dress was skintight. The rice went straight to my tummy. It was a great compliment to the honey and ginger. I finished off the vegetables first, since I love veggies and I totally drowned my chicken with the sauce.

For dessert, we had chocolate fondant with berry compote and vanilla ice cream. Vanilla ice cream or any ice cream for that matter is an uh-oh to me, you all know that, but it went absolutely well with the chocolate, which I finished up to the last crumb. The berry compte provided a tart contrast to the sweetness and richness of chocolate and ice cream, two of everyone's favorite comfort foods. We all know from my previous post how chunks of fruit could be annoying to puréed things. The cute little scoop of creamy vanilla ice cream rests on a sweet peanut brittle cup, by the way.

So how do these ingredients relate to the all-new Downy Perfume series?

Here we go. Let's start off with a little discussion on the red variant, which is Passion.

Passion was described as "sweet and vibrant". Passion incorporates what we would call sugar, spice, and all things nice - French pastries, flowers, and fruits. Hence we've got apple, raspberry, and vanilla, which were exhibited in our dessert and drink. Apple blossom, freesia, and vanilla make it to the top and middle notes, and fresh mulberry and cedarwood are in our bottom notes. Remember how the scent of apple pie reminds us of home? Or how chocolate would make us feel good after a bad day? Same idea.

The purple bottle, Attraction had a very fresh and alluring floral fragrance. Attraction is inspired by nature hence we've got the bouquet of different flower notes like jasmine, ylang-ylang, rose, and iris. It sort of fades to a soft musk, tube rose, and wood fragrances for the bottom notes, for a floral and oriental blend of fragrances. Among the two, it was Attraction that my friends like, since the scent is fresher than the warmer one of Passion. In our menu, we got the Jasmine in our rice and Rose in our wine as representatives of this fragrance. Jasmine and rose are interesting variants to food. Rose ice cream and pastries have this distinct exotically interesting taste, sort of something intriguing that you can't put your finger which it is. Jasmine rice is usually my choice in Thai restaurants, giving an interesting twist to a plate staple, South Beach diet begone.

Quite interesting, really, how they incorporated fragrance components to food, and vice-versa. I', sniffing my passion-scented red shawl right now, and I do smell a hint of apple. As I type this, I'm craving for warm apple crumble with a scoop of nonfat vanilla ice cream

Thesugarbug loves Lipton Milk Tea to Give Her Energy

I like the title 'coz it rhymes. Heee!

A few months ago, before this blog came to be, I, along with a few other bloggers, were fortunate enough to attend a Lipton and Body Shop Blogger's event where we were pampered not with yummy Bizu munchies, given our favorite Body Shop freebies, but also, we got a taste of Lipton Milk Tea. I was already a fan of milk tea even before I started doing makeup professionally. This is one of the food discoveries I've had during our food trips back during the day when I used to work. It's actually been around for quite a while and here it is for me to share in my food blog.

I present to you, Lipton Milk Tea.

Wth healthy lifestyle being the "in" thing today, it's really nice to know that new varieties of healthy drinks are coming up. For me, it's a good way of promoting health without the preachy aspect. Remember how some of us get traumatized when we were "forced" to eat vegetables? You know what I mean. Plus look at the main color - YELLOW! Definitely very inviting, very cheery, very sunny, very summery. In fact, the color of the day during the event was YELLOW! It's like the tea cups were saying "Drink me! I'm healthy! I make you pretty and happy!" In a sweet fairy godmother tone.

Actually, I'm a tea lover now that I'm embracing a healthy, zen lifestyle to balance my on-the-go high energy and entrophy side. For one thing, tea has a way of calming me down especially after a long day. Remember in the spas we're served teas after a massage? It sort of seals everything in and relaxes the body more. After a heavy and fatty meal, I always like a cup of tea to help calm down my tummy especially since I do have a history of hyperacidity. I love tea after a yoga session. When I'm sick, a nice hot cup of ginger or peppermint tea helps me feel better.

What I like about tea is that it has this way of making me feel good while giving me that energy jolt I need for that extra stretch of work. Actually, the dorky side of it explaining that is tea actually has a naturally-occuring amino acid called theanine, which naturally stimulates activity in the brain called alpha waves resulting in a relaxed but alert mental state. So when there's work to be done, I can do it with a calm mindset rather than all jittery and jumpy. It's like getting the job done while being calm and focused. Imagine finishing a deadline all nerves and shackles. Haggard 'no 'te?

Summing it up here's a perfect equation:

Milk + Tea = Refreshingly good!

I mean when I tasted it first, it's got that kick a tea has, that bitter herbal taste but there's the mellowness and creamy-sweet taste of milk. Lipton milk tea tastes also like real, brewed milk tea from scratch - not artificial or medicine-like. I can even take this on an empty stomach. Say, I need something to warm me up before a crack-of-dawn shoot. I might pack this since I have an overnight shoot! (Mental note: Run to the grocery and get yourself a box of Lipton Milk Tea).

I actually prefer this hot, since I like the warmth it gives on my stomach. When it's a hot day, serving it cold (with ice!) could be a good choice. I can even take a packet with me along with a heatproof mug and make one before I start doing makeup or on-the-go.

Take a look at this picture:

The sugar bug definitely loves her Lipton Milk tea up to the point that she would have drank the cup clean down to the subatomic particles of Lipton Milk Tea had she been gifted with a proboscis.

Make-Your-Own-Pizza Night, An Event that Not Even Floods Could Stop

Despite the typhoon howling and the rains pouring, I received an SMS from the event organizing stating that rain or shine, this event would push through-- with great relief as I am halfway my way to Makati... on public transportation as no cab wanted to brave the floods.

At Buendia, the flood was horrendous my usual 45-minute journey on a good, low-peak day became a 2-1/2 hour journey. Buendia was really flooded and the bus had to turn off the airconditioning just to save gas. As the crowd was packing in and the traffic not moving I went down - by this time, the bus has reached Ayala) at Herrera and walked to Glorietta - in 3-inch pointed boots! By that time, I was supposed to meet photographer and new blogger, Marc. I told him I'll meet him at Skin Food, the one near Lacoste. My bad, I forgot there are 2 Lacoste stores in Glorietta, walking again in those killer heels. So I met him in the one near Marks and Spencer and we proceeded to CPK.

I was expecting everyone to be late due to the rains but the function room was packed. But nevertheless, everyone was there and I proceeded to greet AJ a happy birthday!



No one dared to miss Make-Your-Own Pizza Day, where bloggers were tasked to make their own favorite CPK Pizza


"It does not have to be perfect!" was what we were told (although in the CPK kitchen, they make theirs perfect!). Here's a trivia: The ever-so-famous BBQ chicken pizza does not have an ounce of tomato sauce. They use barbecue sauce, cheeses. onions, barbecue grilled chicken, and some cilantro on top. Yumm!

Bloggers were then tasked to make their own pizza with the CPK chefs guiding them. What I love about California Pizza Kitchen is that they're so creative about their pizza. Maybe I can get creative at home with my version from the tips I learned from the event. :)



The crust...



The fillings (under yellow light)


And we also munched on our munchies:

I crush the Sesame Ginger Chicken Dumplings





These babies won Rico's and Marc's appetite.
(Baja Chicken Tortilla Spring Rolls)


The picture was cropped as our makeshift "reflector" (i.e. a white dinner plate) was peeking through. :P Marc's idea of using it as a reflector to brighten the look.


Spotted also in the blogger events are cute KE couple Gary and Jill, who I paused for a bit of chika. I haven't seen these guys since the Carlos Celdran tour we attended. I also paused for a chat with model Vanessa Pastor-Ledesma, who was there as her husband...


RJ Ledesma was the host . He's as witty and funny as he is on his column as he is hosting. :)

Fun Fun Night! I've always been a CPK fan and our family loves having gatherings there. It's kid-friendly too! And if you're a grownup, have a cocktail. I recommend the pina colada! :)